Dustin Poirier to auction off UFC fight kit to benefit family of cop killed in the line of duty

Dustin Poirier poses for photographers during a weigh-in on May 12 in Dallas before UFC 211. ( AP)

Dustin Poirier will return to the Octagon on Nov. 11 to face Anthony Pettis in the main event of UFC Fight Night 120. And, for the second time, Poirier will be competing with a bigger cause in mind.

After his no contest with Eddie Alvarez at UFC 211, Poirier auctioned off his fight kit on eBay for $5,100 and donated the proceeds to Second Harvest Food Bank. This time, Poirier will auction his fight kit off to raise money for an officer from his hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana, who died in the line of duty. Poirier made the announcement on his Facebook page.

“I will be selling my fight kit from my upcoming fight at UFC Fight Night 120. All of the proceeds will be going directly to the family of Corporal Michael Middlebrook, A 9-year veteran of the Lafayette [Louisiana] police dept. who lost his life in the line of duty earlier this month. He left behind a wife and 3 daughters.”

Middlebrook died on Oct. 1 when he was shot while answering a call for help from employees of a convenience store who had been shot during a robbery. But Middlebrook’s family has been in the middle of a controversy over health benefits when they found out that the late officer’s health insurance will not continue at the current rate. Instead, they would be subjected to the retiree-level health insurance and have their premiums increase by 125 percent.